Red Sun
by MissBesanii
Summary: No matter how fast light is, dark was always there first. With the end of the world inevitable, trust is all you have left. AU OC fic
1. Preface

**Preface**

It's been a long time since the peace of our world was intact. I remember my childhood, so regular back then. I wish I hadn't taken it for granted. I'd travelled, as most did, and grown strong with my pokemon.

I hadn't been strong enough for what was to come. I don't think anyone was.

My eyes roamed the horizon once more as I walked across the barrier wall. For the moment, everything was still, but that unnerved me. I'd learned the hard way that there is always a calm before the storm. The wasteland that was once the beautiful city of Canalave lay dormant and dead, forever unchanging. My heart sank at the memory of my hometown, but it only made me want to fight this battle more.

Gallade grumbled behind me, also nervous. We were very much in tune with one another, and he was my most trustworthy partner. I turned and nodded to him, indicating that I felt the same, but could not continue the conversation as we were interrupted.

"Sergeant Harper."

I turned to my leader, who was stood firmly by the ladder he'd taken to reach me here. Out of respect, I placed my feet together and stood tall, saluting him sharply. "Lieutenant Morgan."

He nodded to acknowledge my greeting, and I lowered my arm. He eyed me for a second, and then out to the horizon. "Everything is quiet?"

"Yes sir." I said quickly, "No signs of danger."

"That's good to know." He said quietly, relief in his voice as he turned to look at the town we protected. He did not continue his conversation, so I turned to carry on with my job. My eyes roamed over the grey sands that covered the Canalave plains, and stopped at the muddy river that had once run clean and pure through the city. The water rippled. It caused me to frown, that water never rippled. There was no wind to blow at the surface, and no life to disturb the depths.

"Sir!" I barked, my eyes not leaving river in case I missed something. He did not reply though, and in my peripherals, the warning lamps sparkled to life consecutively. Not seconds after, the sirens began, and the peace I'd been nervous about was torn to shreds.

"Sergeant, take your section and defend the western wall!" Lieutenant Morgan demanded.

"But-" The wall we were already standing on was surely about to be attacked too.

"That's an order!"

Not one to disobey, I yelled at my soldiers and led them along the wall, having to circle the great warning lights and clamber over weaponry as we made our way. We didn't have to make it the whole way, though, as our first foes had scaled the wall to cut off our route. The creatures were all different physically, but their similarities were obvious. Their skin black and charred, their teeth sharper than any pokemon's I'd ever seen. The ones we faced now were the first of their kind anybody had ever seen, and we'd named them Hellions. Their bodies were bulky, with the shape of an Aggron, only they were much faster and far more powerful. Their small, armoured skull was covered in spikes, as was the joints on their limbs. I'd seen many deaths due to them, but I'd also seen many be killed. They charged quickly, and slashed even faster. Their flaw was they had virtually no peripheral vision, and we could blind-side them.

With no need for command, my section set into action. We were heavily trained for this kind of encounter, and I had no worry in their ability. I took the lead, my hand already ripping out my knife from it's sheath and slashing at the closest Hellion's face. It roared and stumbled back, only for another to leap over it and straight for me. General Trevino covered me with a quick slash along it's neck, and I managed to sink a bullet straight into that wound. It lost momentum quickly as it crashed to the floor, and two more ran around it. Gallade blocked an attack with speed, and I jabbed in its direction, but this one was smart. It leapt back and slashed a claw to us, which Gallade blocked with shining bladed arms.

Just as we finished off our third Hellion, I was distracted with an explosion to our right. I turned to look, and see how on earth they'd already made it into the village. Up ahead, Seraphs flew straight over the wall, a few falling to our gunmen, but more simply swept over their heads, taking a few men's lives with their sharp talons. I took aim with my pistol at one heading in our direction, trusting Gallade to cover me as I did so. Just as it got close enough, I lodged a bullet into it's skull and slashed at it's stomach to push it aside and continue with the fight on the ground.

"Gallade!" I yelled as I leapt off the back of another Hellion. He looked in my direction, just as I shot an advancing Hellion and gave him his order. "Find Lieutenant Morgan, we'll be done here soon!" He nodded to me, and leapt off the wall without hesitation.

I carefully peered over the wall, relieved to find there were no more scaling it. We had just two left to finish here, but with a quick look over the village, we were the only group winning our quarter. Fires had started, and the Seraphs had begun raining down on innocent people.

"Serge!"

I turned, noticing one of my generals had been cut down by the claws of the final Hellion. Before it could deliver a final blow, I shot the claw, and ran to General Mason's aid. A rumble in the wall told me that final monster had fallen. Mason was not unconscious, but was completely unaware of what was going on. A wound across his shoulder that was deep, but not enough to puncture a lung.

"Mason, can you hear me? I need you to stand."

He groaned, managing to help me lift him as General Trevino took his uninjured arm. As we made way for the infirmary, Gallade had found me and beckoned me to follow.

"Let me, Serge." Lawson came to take my place, and I began to run for the edge of the wall after Gallade.

"Get him safe then meet me at the-"

I had no chance to finish my orders as a Seraph dove in close, releasing an enormous fireball that exploded and threw everything in sight like it was mere dust in the wind. Mason, Trevino and Lawson flew out out of sight, and I called after them, but before I could help them, a swarm of Seraphs caught my sight, all carrying the same explosive fireballs.

"Gallade!" I yelled, trying to close ranks with him so we could protect each other, but they closed in too fast. The fireball sped toward me with incredible accuracy, and all I could do was leap aside, only just clearing it but my ankle armour set alight. Distracted, I was knocked aside by the talons of a Seraph, and my vision failed.

As I came to, I coughed the mass of dust I must have inhaled whilst unconscious. I was in extreme shock that I was still alive, but as I opened my eyes I realised why. Gallade sat over me in a dark alleyway with rubble everywhere. He looked relieved as he noticed me, and helped me to stand.

"Are they all dead?" I asked. Gallade nodded slowly, a grim look on his face. I frowned, pushing past him and into the street, or what was left of it anyway.

All around me was yet another wasteland of buildings, leaving very few structures standing, and no live beings around. I began to walk, aware that Gallade was right behind me.

"What happened?" I muttered, though I knew the answer. The Seraphs had been organised, they'd had a leader. They'd laid waste to everything in their path, including every human and pokemon in sight.

A sudden coughing caused me to start, and Gallade was in front of me in a flash. My hand flickered to my sword, but I instinctively knew it was a human who had made the noise.

I cleared my throat. "Who's there?" Gallade began searching through the rubble.

"Harper..."

I recognised the voice and leapt toward it, ripping the rubble away with my hands. "Lieutenant Morgan..."

"Sir." I found him, and the sight of him brought a lump to my throat. "S-sir..." I looked over his crushed body, wounds covering him, the worst being through his chest.

"It's alright." He muttered. Then looked me in the eye. "I have one last thing I need of you, Harper." He breathed in slowly; "You're the only one I'd trust with it."

I nodded, unsure of what to say. I knew I would do anything for him.

"Go to the survivors..." He took my hand. "Find my daughter. Ivy. Take her to her mother..." With that, he placed a picture in my hand. He was crouched down with a pretty child sat on his knee, her arms thrown in the air as she grinned happily. I could tell by the background that the photo was post-apocalyptic, but she was oblivious to the dangers of a world she had been born into.

"Sir..." Was all I could say as I saluted him.

"They won't let you go freely, you will have to break some rules." He told me solemnly, and then coughed roughly, we instinctively knew these were his last breaths.

"You're a good soldier, Harper. Take care of her." He closed his eyes and smiled weakly.

"I will Sir. You have my word." This man had been my mentor, my leader and one of my only friends. I knew I would do whatever I could for him.

"Then I can go now." He muttered, and exhaled gently, his muscles relaxing as he fell into the final sleep.

It was both peaceful and painful as I watched him leave this world, for it was not much of a world he was leaving behind. I placed the picture into my pack, and stood, overlooking Canalave in it's ashes.

The start to the end of the world.


	2. One

**One**

I walked, Gallade at my side, for three days and four nights, barely pausing for anything. Following their tracks was easy, but growing smaller the further I got, which worried me. Travelling so far in such a huge group was dangerous, being easily spottable. The elderly would not survive such harsh terrain, and would be picked off as easy prey should the people be attacked. It only urged me to push my feet harder, I would catch them up eventually.

Memories flashed in my mind as I recognised the land marks that had not fallen to ruin in the route. It saddened me that I had once taken such wonders for granted, and now they were mere moments of beauty in the wreckage.

Gallade grumbled, slipping his stance wide to cover me, and I instinctively fell into a similar position in the other direction to make sure we were covered.

I could not hear anything, but that meant nothing, there were creatures that had adapted to be silent footed and fatal even to the sharpest of ears. Still, my eyes darted each and every direction, my hands already gripping my pistol and dagger.

"You're hard to tail, you know."

I wheeled, my pistol instantly aimed for the owner of the voice. The man was tall and even under his armour it was obvious he was built to fight. He carried a thick broadsword, one that would absolutely crush me through my armour should he use it against me.

"And you are?" I asked.

"I was about to ask you the same thing." He smirked, tilting his head as he toyed with me. I did not reply verbally, only raised an eyebrow. He saw this and chuckled. "Cooperation is always appreciated, missy."

I scowled at him, but turned to see two more humans had joined him, both holding very different style swords.

"Now why would a little messenger girl like you be hurrying through these parts?" The one asked, showing his lack of teeth along his top jaw. I cringed at him, and backed up to Gallade so we weren't separated.

"I am no messenger."

They all laughed together, not believing me, and before one had even twitched to his sword, I had already whirled to face him, and aimed for his face. I did not hesitate to bring the numbers down in their group. He crumpled to the floor before any of them had time to see I'd started attacking. It was a bold move, and one they had not expected from a woman of my stature. Gallade had taken my cue and had assaulted the next man, this one had quick enough reflexes to have deflected. I turned to see the first man who'd spoken to me, and he looked both shocked and outraged. He ran at me, muscles rippling as he hoisted the huge sword up and let it swing toward me. I rolled out of the way, standing just in time to leap backwards to miss his next blow. I swiped my dager toward him, and he backed off long enough for me to get my footing again.

"You're a fighter, I like that." He grinned, all of his teeth perfectly in place.

I didn't want to talk, I wanted him out of my way, either dead or running away with his tail between his legs. I threw the dagger, my hand quickly reaching for my sword as he deflected the dagger. I tried for an overhead slash, but he was surprisingly quick with such a huge and heavy blade of his own. We parried, but my arms jarred in pain from his overwhelming strength. Without speed on my side, I skipped back again, trying to find a way into his man's ridiculous defence.

"I could use a gal like you, y'know." He informed me. "I'm a successful assassin, I work for all the big companies. You could earn a lot with me."

I just scowled harder, circling him as he smiled calmly at me.

"Surely you've heard of me." He added. "The Silver Scyther?"

Of course I knew of him. He was infamous for his killings, and had indeed worked for the biggest companies around the world. I felt a little sick, this man was not going to be easy to kill.

"Think of what I could teach you." He tried to tempt me, recruit me to his cause. I narrowed my eyes and tensed my muscles. "This world is not what it used to be, it's live and let die."

I'd had enough of his talking, I quickly lifted my left hand and shot at him, but he just stumbled back a little from the impact, his armour was far too good for a lonesome bullet to penetrate. He looked up and sighed mockingly. "It's a shame, you could have been good."

I was ready for his assault this time though, and dodged left to slash at his right arm in the crease of his armour. He roared in pain, dropping his broadsword, unable to lift it with damaged tendons. He took to a smaller blade he'd had at his side, and swiped at me with his left hand. Now I had the upper hand. I was faster, in no pain and using my better arm. We parried, and I managed to boot him in the stomach to fling him backwards. My sword slashed at his side, but the armour was fantastic, there wouldn't be much that could break through it.

An idea sprung into my head, and I tried not to make it obvious as I backed up again. He followed, badly angered and his breathing raggid from all his growling. I slashed and parried a few times to distract him from my plan. As soon as I'd managed to push him away for a split second, I dropped my own sword and gripped his broadsword with both hands and spun to gain momentum with it. He was too close to back off in time, and I sliced through the front of his armour, but kept going as I raised the spinning broadsword above my head and suddenly twisted it to slam down at his shoulder. His knees buckled, and he collapsed down onto them as the broadsword slipped and clattered to the floor. I glared down at him, feeling little mercy for this cold killer. He looked at me with wide eyes, his last words dying in his throat as I kicked him gently to the ground. With a light tut, I looked up to see Gallade just finishing with his enemy. That human had been joined with a Sneasel that had unfortunately met a similar end as it's owner had.

"Well that was fun." I sighed bitterly, picking up my own sword and wiping the blood off it as I stalked in the direction I had been headed in before we'd been interrupted. Gallade leapt to my side and nodded in agreement, gesturing to his arms that needed tending to as well. I handed him the cloth I'd used and sheathed my blade. Musing over that fight. It had been hard, but I had expected better from such a notorious fighter. Maybe I'd been lucky, or he was just slacking. Or perhaps I was a better fighter than I'd initially thought.

Gallade grunted, snapping me out of my thoughts and pointing to a large grey spot in the distance. A crowd of people, making way over the dead land. I looked past them and saw their destination. Jubilife. Once an urban jungle, it's tall buildings rivaled by no other city in the world, but very few sky scrapers stood strong now, much fewer than I'd last seen. Jubilife was just a mountainous rubble pile of what it once was, but it covered the new underground city that had been creatively named New Jubilife, where many hundreds of citizens had taken refuge, and where the people of Canalave were surely headed.

"We'd better find Ivy before they reach the tunnels then." I concluded aloud, hoisting myself over the wall we'd come to and skidding down the hill toward my townsfolk.


	3. Two

**Two**

Being a large crowd meant they couldn't move very fast, and I caught up with them fairly quickly. They recognised me by my uniform from afar, and greeted me with relief when I reached them.

"Harper!"

I smiled weakly to my comrades who had survived. Both Trevino and Mason came to my side, the latter slower as he struggled with his arm.

"It's good to see you safe." I said, genuinely. I felt a pang of guilt that I had not been there to protect them in the first place.

"You too." Trevino grinned, without the slightest concern in his face as he escorted me toward Jubilife. "We thought you hadn't made it through the attack, we searched the wreckage but couldn't find you anywhere."

Gallade grumbled at my side, and I nodded too. "We were hidden well."

"You're telling me." He chortled, far too happy in these circumstances. That was his nature though, optimistic to the end. Suddenly his face darkened, and he looked at me solemnly. "Did Lieutenant-"

I shook my head before he could finish, and sadness consumed him for a moment. I allowed him to mourn silently, as did Mason, who had been listening the entire conversation.

"Listen." I hushed my voice so nobody but my Generals could hear me. "I have a task that I need to do for him. One that isn't going to allowed by the forces. I need you to distract Captain Redmond, can you do that for me?"

"Why? What for?" Mason muttered, frowning.

I explained my situation, and it did not make them any more willing.

"We'll come with you." Mason said firmly, "You won't survive with a child alone in this world!"

Trevino hushed him and then shook his head. "No, you're injured. It would be best if I escorted them."

"No." I stopped walking, they stopped just ahead of me and turned. "I will not put your lives in danger anymore than I already have. You will stay here and do as I say."

"But-"

"That's an order." I snapped, causing a few looks from the citizens. I paused, waiting for them to turn away and continue walking politely. I lowered my voice even further, causing them to step in closer to hear me. "This won't be a hard mission, I'll return as soon as I'm done. I just need to get the kid out of here and the worst shall be passed. Now are you going to help me or not?"

They looked at each other and hesitated, but Trevino nodded to him and then looked at me. "We will, Serge."

* * *

Nightfall came, and the Canalave citizens were told to rest as the soldiers spread around the perimeters. The children's camp was in the middle, where they were surely the safest. I had been posted the furthest away from Captain Redmond, which was convenient as it would give me the longest time to find the girl and escape.

Mason rounded the corner of one the large tents and offered me two large packs. "I managed to salvage some of the remaining ration tins from tonight, and I filled three canteens of water for you each. You should last about three or four days on that."

I nodded, then clipped both packs onto me for the time being.

Trevino handed me his stock of magazines, and looked me in the eye. "Are you sure you have everything?"

"All the essentials." I told him evenly. "Thank you, both of you."

Mason looked around discreetly. "Redmond is still at his post for the moment, he should be doing his round in about ten minutes. That gives you about twenty to make your way and disappear."

Trevino frowned. "They're going to think you're-"

"You know I am staying loyal to Lieutenant Morgan. That is all that matters." I said surely.

"They will not hear a thing from us." Mason ensured me. "Now go, you have very little time."

I nodded, and clasped their hands tightly. "Thank you, friends. Stay safe."

"You as well, Serge." They said simultaneously, and stepped aside for me to head toward the middle of the camp.

* * *

I looked at the picture once more, and scanned over the children slowly. None of them matched this pretty child in the photo. She had long, wavy black hair and looked strikingly like her father, only the feminine version of him. None of the children in front of me had such dark hair, none had the exact green iris of a Morgan.

"May I help you?"

I spun around on my heels, slightly unnerved. I had not heard this woman approach, and yet she was inches away from me now. She obviously meant my no harm though, so I relaxed.

"I'm looking for Ivy Morgan."

The woman turned sad quickly, and put a hand to her mouth. "Please do not tell me you come with bad news."

I lowered my gaze, and did not need to say more.

She gave a quiet sob, and gestured for me to follow her into one of the tents. I ducked under the door, and she pointed to a young lady sat in the corner reading, her body language that of someone who had already admitted the truth. I looked at the woman beside me.

"You may leave, I shall talk to her."

It gave me the perfect opportunity, the woman did not refuse my offer. She left without a word, and I heard her cry a little more as she walked away.

"Ivy Morgan?" I asked, though I needn't have bothered, she was quite the image of her father. I had not expected a teenager when I looked at the picture of a young child, but she was most definitely Morgan's daughter. She looked at me with huge, round eyes and frowned.

"Who are you?"

"Sergeant Harper, I was in your father's division." I told her, saluting without a thought.

She eyed me curiously. "He's spoken of you before. A few times."

I smiled weakly and sat in front of her. "He's sent me here to fetch you, Ivy. We have to leave."

"Why? We're nearly at New Jubilife."

"I haven't the time to explain now, but trust your father and come with me." I offered my hand to her, and she looked at it.

"He told me never to leave the Canalave citizens and army." She said sternly, shuffling away from me.

"He's telling you now that we have to go. Now." I said quickly, taking her hand and hoisting her up. She dropped her book and inhaled sharply. I was too quick, and managed to muffle her scream. With my spare hand, I gave her the photo. She stopped resisting immediately and took it off me, looking at it with teary eyes.

"He's gone, Ivy, and you're not safe here. I'm to escort you out of here." I told her quietly, and I was already clipping her pack to her.

She looked at the back of the photo, something I had never thought to do, and gasped. Tears automatically fell from her eyes, and I could see he had written his goodbye on it in preparation for his death.

"Gallade!" My pokemon hissed outside the tent, and I took her hand once again.

"We have to leave. Now!"

She nodded firmly, and her grip tightened around mine. "Let's go."


	4. Three

**Three**

She had been silent for a few hours of travel, and I had not wanted to bother her after breaking such terrible news to her. However, she eventually started to look at me, taking in my appearance. I assumed it wasn't fantastic after the fight I'd been in earlier in the day.

"Excuse me, is it Harper?"

I nodded, my eyes still forever vigilant on the plains ahead of us whilst Gallade watched our backs.

"Where are you from?"

"Canalave, like you." I told her, glancing briefly at her. Her eyes were bright and curious, though the lids around them were red and swollen from the heavy flow of tears.

She nodded and pursed her lips, telling me she had more questions. I saved her the trouble. "I don't have any family. My parents died in the first wave of attacks on Canalave. Your father took me in and trained me up to fight."

She seemed shocked by my abruptness, but it was in my nature. The truth was painful, but tiptoeing around the facts didn't dull their sharpness any more than telling her straight.

"Is that why you're helping me?"

I nodded again, this time slower.

It was silent again for a while, and she pondered over my words, every now and then glancing nervously around her.

"Do you fight, Ivy?" I asked quietly.

She shook her head. "Dad trained me to use a gun, but nothing more. I've never shot anything..."

I pursed my lips, surprised that Lieutenant Morgan would leave his daughter so vulnerable. She noticed my reaction and quickly tried to correct my thoughts. "I'll be able to defend myself. Promise."

"I hope there won't be a need to." I told her quietly, taking my own pistol and holster and handing it to her. "You're safe with us, but keep that with you."

"Thank you."

I nodded again, and once more lapsed into silence. Around us the Jubilife sky scrapers towered above us in the ghostless city of wreckage and doom of what was once a beautiful place. Ivy looked around in awe, and slightly nervous. It must have been her first time seeing the buildings, and wasn't sure what to make of them.

"We'll find somewhere to stay here for the night. Nobody will find us." I told her, pointing to one of the buildings. I remembered vividly entering that door back when things were normal, and civilised, but now the glass doors would not open but were conveniently smashed.

"Stay here." I muttered, then slipped through the hole. The glass crunched under my feet, and a froze where I was. I strained to hear for any reaction, my hand instantly at my sheath, but the only noise was Ivy's breathing behind me.

With no movement in the room, I began to secure the area. There were a small group of Rattata who scurried off the moment they noticed me. Other than that, I found nothing. When I was sure we were fine here, I hurried back down the stairs to give them the all clear.

"We should be safe in here for the night." I muttered, stepping aside to let them in as I kept my eyes on the outside. If somebody was watching us from outside, they might ambush us. I wouldn't be surprised either, in this city of destruction.

Ivy seemed a little nervous as she followed Gallade, and frequently glanced behind herself at me to check I was there.

We settled in the middle of the fourth floor, where there was furniture for pokemon hideouts that children used to make when things were normal. Only the large items remained, things that people couldn't steal because they couldn't be carried down the stairs and the elevator didn't work. There was a large mat rolled up in the corner of the shop floor, which I lay out for Ivy.

"You should sleep." I told her after we'd eaten, but she shook her head.

"I wanted to know where we were headed." She muttered. She glanced up at me sheepishly, and then back down at her hands.

I pursed my lips, this was what I wanted to know from her. She pulled out the photo I'd given her and studied the writing on the back.

"Your father gave me instructions to take you to you mother, but didn't say where she was. I was hoping you would know." I told her, watching for her reaction. I felt Gallade shift behind me, and he grumbled under his breath sadly.

"My Mom was taken." She said quietly, flipping the photo over and pursing her lips. A tear already dripped onto it and she touched the water to wipe it off. "She's a scientist. They took her to find a cure for the virus."

Gallade moved away in order to be rid of the pull Ivy was causing with her emotion. He often gained headaches when around vulnerable people, being known for their ability to feel emotions.

"Who are _they_?"

She looked up with teary eyes and shook her head. "I don't know. They wore green suits of armour, and had a golden crest on them. I was eight, they pushed me inside a tent and disappeared with her. That's all I remember."

I'd never heard of any army in that kind of uniform, and I had no way of finding out who they were either, anymore.

"Dad wasn't there when it happened. He didn't know where she'd gone. I... I don't know whether she's dead or alive." She sobbed, placing her head in her hands, the photo dropping to the floor.

I stayed quiet, not sure what I was going to do or say. Where could we go from here? How were we going to find this woman who disappeared off the face of the earth years ago with no idea where to start?

"Gallade!" He suddenly shot into my vision, glowing blades extended from his long arms and he lashed them forward to slash a psychocut faster than I could really work out what was going on. It was only when the attack collided with something that I couldn't see did I leap up and shove Ivy behind me.

"Show yourself!" I snarled, widening my stance as I pulled my sword to my side. Gallade sliced forward again, faster than I'd ever seen him move, and the target was knocked back too. Whatever Gallade had done had turned off whatever was keeping it invisible, as electricity crackled everywhere, and a flicker of a man continuously flashed in my eyes. He was armed, and sliced toward Gallade before he could notice. Thankfully, I was there to block it, but he was strong, and a pained shock ran through my arm as I began deflecting his blows. It was hard to fight him when he flickered so much, and it was terribly confusing, but whenever I missed him, Gallade was there to push him back. We worked together, I would distract him whilst Gallade landed another blow upon the technology that was causing the illusion. Gallade threw another psycho cut, taking all of the man's attention, and I managed kick the backs of his knees while he was distracted to have him on the floor. I spun while he was dazed, jumping over his desperate lash, and used the hilt of my blade to completely destroy the insibility device. Before I could hit him with a final blow, Ivy was at his side, pistol cocked and at his temple.

"Who are you?" She said quickly. "And what do you want with us?"

The man glanced out of the corner of his eye to look at her, and then back to me. "I am Rivers. I was merely defending myself."

"From us?" Ivy snapped, a new side to her showing in the moment.

He nodded slowly, careful not to startle her for the sake of keeping his brains where they ought to be. "I've been here for a few weeks now. I meant no harm if you mean none to me."

I rolled my shoulder. "I think you've already disproved that."

He looked me in the eye. "You swung a sword at me, what do you expect?"

Ivy shook the pistol to remind him it was there. He lost all aggressiveness quickly. "I was just checking it was still safe to stay here with you around. Would you have not done the same?"

I looked at Gallade, who nodded soundlessly. The man was not lying if Gallade sensed nothing but resignation from him.

"My apologies." I said, offering a hand to help him up. He was hesitant, as wary of us as we were of him, but he took it. He clasped my forearm, and I did likewise, hoisting him to stand, as Gallade took his shoulder to steady him. Ivy was clearly still untrusting of him, the gun still in her hand, but at least it was lowered as she backed off. For me, however, I figured if Gallade hadn't sensed the slightest trace of hostility from him, we were fine for now.

"So have you got names?" He asked.

I nodded, motioning for where we'd set up camp. "Harper. This is Ivy and my partner, Gallade." I gestured to them both.

"You're a soldier." He stated, looking at my uniform.

"Was." I corrected.

"I heard your conversation. The end of it anyway." He informed me, looking at Ivy. "I'm sorry to hear about your loss."

Ivy nodded, turning away and heading back for the mat.

"You should sleep." Rivers said. "We can talk in the morning."

I sat down against a tipped over shelf and shook my head. "I'm on sentry duty tonight." I insisted. I'd gone much longer than 24 hours without sleep.

Ivy looked at me. "Wake me up in a few hours, we'll switch." I smiled gratefully at her.

Rivers nodded. "I suppose you don't trust me. I understand that."

"You can sleep here by all means." I said, not guilty of my judgement. He knew why I wouldn't make myself vulnerable to him. "Gallade, sleep."

The pokemon nodded, slipping back into the darkness to rest.

It took a little while until Ivy began to breath lightly in slumber, and shortly after, Rivers began talking again.

"What division are you from, General?"

I frowned, unsure why he needed to know. "Canalave. And I was a Sergeant, not a General."

"Whoa, in the big league, huh?"

My eyes narrowed, and he coughed in embarrassment.

"Sorry, I shouldn't pry." He scratched his head. I nodded in agreement, and yet he continued. "I was part of the Hearthome division."

It didn't surprise me, it was very obvious he had been military trained with the way he fought. I looked at his armour, but it had been blackened with burns. He noticed me looking and explained. "I fought a Cabiri. Only just managed to kill it too. Fast little bastards, they are. This armour is fire-proof, but the fire of a Cabiri managed to singe it still. I should get a new set, but I kinda like it, don't you?"

I nodded politely, my mind racing to remember what a Cabiri was. They weren't very common, but were not dissimilar to a Ponyta in structure but they ranged in size. There were different Cabiri that used different types of special attacks. Fire, being the one Rivers had faced, and there had been reports of electricity attackers and the worst of them all being psychic attackers. They were built to be speedy and evasive, whilst using their special ability to attack. They take down their prey using a very formidable hit and run technique.

"What did that to you?" He pointed at my forehead, where I touched lightly and noticed it had bled.

"You." I guessed, smirking slightly at the irony.

"Oh, sorry about that." He automatically reached out to help, but I flinched away and batted his hand. He seemed confused, and so did I, but neither of us said anything about it.

We carried on our conversation into the night, exchanging stories about our lives before the outbreak, and our time served in the army.

"Morgan." He suddenly said. He was staring at his hands as he frowned deeply. He waited for me to reply, but I said nothing. When he realised this, he inhaled and continued to speak. "I know this is rather forward, but... I was wondering if you'd let me join you on this journey."

I rose my eyebrows in surprise, and my sudden movement made him look up at me.

"I'd understand if you said no..." He muttered.

"It's not that." I said quickly. "I just don't know why you'd _want_ to come with us..."

"Well, I've been here for a few weeks not knowing what to do with myself. I definitely couldn't travel alone. It would be nice to have a goal in my life again." He explained.

I looked over at Ivy, wondering what she would think of this proposal. It would definitely ease a little responsibility off my mind if I had an extra pair of hands to look after her.

"Think about it, will you? We have until morning."

I nodded, and he sighed. "I'm going to sleep." He informed me. "Good night."

"Night." I replied, watching as he settled down where he was. It didn't take long for him to fall asleep at all, and I quickly fell into my familiar pattern whilst acting as sentry. I wandered to the window, looking over the city, and wondered where to begin the search.


	5. Four

**Four**

Gallade woke me when it was time to leave, and we began packing up straight away. For some reason, my stomach was twisting with nausea, but I put it down to hunger.

"How did you sleep?" Ivy asked politely, making a point of ignoring Rivers, especially after I'd talked to her about the proposition. I'd tried to make her see how beneficial it would be to have an extra army trained soldier with us, and although she didn't agree, she hadn't refused.

I nodded, watching as she lifted her pack and winced. She had found some items that would be useful in our journey, but it looked like things were getting a little heavy for her.

"Give it here." I sighed, taking the strap and passing her my smaller and lighter pack. She frowned at me, but I shrugged. "I've carried more than a burden on my back."

She lowered her gaze, and sighed.

Rivers emerged from wherever it was he'd kept his belongings, a panicked look on his face. My hand went straight to my blade, but he shook his head.

"There's somebody on the building across from here, they're not making a move to get across, just watching us." He muttered, his eyes drifting over to Ivy. "We need to get her out of here without whoever it is up there noticing."

I nodded, gesturing to Gallade, who understood and closed the distance between him and the younger girl.

Carefully, I made my way over to the window, peeking around the side of it and scanning the rooftops. As Rivers had said, a small dot that was distinctly humanoid shaped was lingering on the roof of the opposite building. It suddenly had a long stick like shape at its side, and I instinctively knew what was going on.

"Get down!" I hissed, yanking Ivy by her arm to stand behind the wall. Gallade hurried back into the room and pointed in the direction he'd come from, his bladed arms sharpening. An echo of a banging door rippled to our floor, and Gallade nodded to confirm this was an ambush.

"What the hell-" Rivers muttered, strapping on his armour as he threw some at Ivy. She nodded and began clipping it onto herself, and I leant her a hand.

"Do you still have your gun?" I asked her quickly as I tightened the strapped on her shin armour. She nodded, patting the butt that was in it's holster on her leg. She pulled on her forearm strap and was happy it was all done. I nodded again to her, and handed her another pokeball. "You keep that at your side and don't use it unless absolutely necessary, okay?"

"What is it?"

"My first pokemon." I told her, and I knew that if I didn't trust her, I wouldn't give her my aged pokemon. He was still strong, but I didn't want to wear him out unless we really needed him.

"We're going to have to go through them..." Rivers said, slipping to the side of the door and peeping around the corner. "They're humans, I can hear them talking."

"Are they here to help us?" Ivy asked quietly.

"No." I said uneasily. "They'll kill us if we don't kill them first."

She paled at my words, and lifted the gun. She had never killed anybody before, and this was either going to harden her, or completely destroy her. I hoped it would shape her into a fighter, but I could only make sure I reached the targets before she had to finish them herself.

"Over there." I pushed her to a corner and glanced at Gallade, who already knew to protect her. They headed up the next flight of stairs, to wait for us to finish the opposition.

Rivers glanced back at me as I took the other side of the door. "Ready?" He asked, looking down at my sword.

"As I'll ever be." I nodded, taking note of his broad sword. He'd been strong, but not as fast as I was. I could cover him if we faced an agile fighter, and he would be good back up.

"You two, upstairs, clear the area." I heard one command, and the two replying with their obedience. I looked at Rivers, and he pressed a finger to his lips. I instinctively knew to be stealthy, we could take one each.

We pressed ourselves against the door, and waited as their muted footsteps carefully made their way up the stairs. From the sound of it, they had metal armour on, which was good against creature attacks, but not our blades or guns. It also made them slower because it was heavy, and I took relief at the thought that we had the upper hand.

Suddenly, one passed us and we went completely unnoticed as he scanned the rest of the room. Rivers gestured to him, and we waited for the other. Our second target came through more carefully, and I struck like a Seviper, clutching the collar of his armour and swinging him to smash head first into the wall. He didn't have time to cry out, I'd moved so fast, and his face crunched against the plaster, leaving a smear of blood along the decor as he slumped to the ground.

I turned to see Rivers had swiftly kicked his target in the stomach, and taken advantage of his crumpled over state by pulling him to the floor in a headlock. I closed my eyes quickly as I heard the unmistakable crunch of a severed spine, then looked to see his head roll unnaturally.

"Jones, what's your status?" The radio rumbled from my victim's body. I looked to Rivers, knowing stealth was out of the question now. However, he grinned and picked up his corpse's radio.

"We're clear, sir. Nothing but Rattata."

I held my breath, hoping their radios were bad enough to not raise an alarm.

"Good. We're coming now."

We both exhaled collectedly, and I took the dead soldier's feet as Rivers took under his arms. We shifted him quickly to the wall where he would hopefully go unnoticed long enough for us to have had a pre-emptive strike on the rest of this group, and at least made things even for ourselves.

"Look at the armour." Rivers breathed.

I did, the man was lean, thin and covered in a thick metal armour that had been sprayed...

"Green." I muttered. My fingers brushing over the golden crest emblazoned on his front. It was in the shape of a heater shield, bordered with intricate thorned vines and in the middle a silhouetted humanoid shape with what looked to be flat wings spread across the shield's width.

"I've never seen anything like this uniform before, not even close." He frowned, but then twisted his head to hear the quiet clatter of more feet coming up the stairs. I didn't have time to reply, we ran for our positions again. I pulled out my stiletto and gripped it readily, and as soon as the first guard came through the door, I pointed it at him, pressing the point against his neck so a little blood oozed out.

He'd managed to point a gun at me in the same amount of time. Knowing he could pull a trigger faster than I could stab a knife, he grinned as I dropped it to the floor.

Careful to only watch Rivers through my peripherals and keep my focus on this questionably trigger happy soldier, I took a few steps back as I raised my hands over my head and adjusted him to stand in the perfect line for Rivers to make the first move.

His knees buckled from beneath him from a calf-kick and he yelped in surprise, giving me enough time to yank his hand up and make sure all he shot was the ceiling. I connected the bottom of my foot with his face, sending him across the room and prizing the gun from his hand. I swung toward the door, rounding the corner and planting a bullet in the first attacker I saw. He recoiled and fell down the stairs, taking one other man with him and most probably injuring him badly.

Without much more thought, I registered more footsteps heading up the stairs. Rivers grabbed my shoulder and began tugging me for the next flight of stairs across the room.

"There's only one left, he'll leave us alone when he realises he's outnumbered." He hissed at me, pushing me against the wall and putting a finger on my mouth before I could object. We needed to interrogate him, find out what army he worked for and where their base was so we could find Ivy's mother and leave.

"I found this in one the soldier's pockets." He handed me the letter, which had information of their target's whereabouts, being here. On the bottom was a logo for Veilstone Regiment. They definitely didn't wear green armour, because I had met some soldiers from there, but it was a start.

Rivers was checking the surroundings as I'd pondered over it all. He nodded to me, confirming that the final soldier had retreated.

All of a sudden, everything happened at once. The floor shuddered, and the wall that kept the outside from us collapsed, having been blasted by what must have been a rocket propelled grenade. It sent Rivers flying towards me, and rubble flew everywhere.

"Are you alright?" I asked quickly, kneeling at his side as he struggled to sit up and shake out of his daze.

"My leg."

I was quick to pull all the rubble off him, but we couldn't go about healing him just yet. I pulled his arm over my shoulder and together we stood.

"Gallade!" I yelled up the stairs. He was with me in a flash, and Ivy hurried after him. "We have to get out of here now." I told them, though they knew what had happened just by looking at the hole in the wall.

The building rumbled again, and Rivers grunted.

"They're gonna take the whole bloody building down!"

Ivy looked at him with panic, but I knew she would stay calm if it came down to it.

"Climb up!" I ordered. "Gallade, get Rivers up to the rooftops. We'll meet you there."

He nodded, offering his arm to the injured man and disappearing with him before our eyes.

"Ready?" I asked Ivy, who took a deep breath and nodded, following me as I began running.

The climb was gruelling, as we weren't anywhere near the top and every few flights we would have to stop and get our balance as the building shook, each time a little more dangerously than the next.

"You got that pokeball?" I asked in short breaths.

"Yes." She panted back to me.

I didn't say anymore, I didn't have time.

Finally we reached the top, and Rivers stared at us with worry and relief.

I pointed to Ivy, "Release it."

She did as she was told, and my Pidgeot appeared, his wise eyes cautious and narrowed as he took in the scenery.

Gallade and I helped Rivers onto the back of the flying pokemon, and Ivy climbed on with a hand from Rivers. Without a wince from Pidgeot, we climbed on as well.

"Go!" I demanded, and Pidgeot spread his beautiful large wings and took off with the grace of a youthful pokemon and the precision of an experienced one. There was an attempt to shoot us down, but it was half-hearted as we were much to high and fast for them to make a decent attempt, and we flew off into the distance.


End file.
